Student Highlight: Amy Kayne

How did you find your way to yoga and then to teaching?

Yoga found me about 18 years ago while I was in college. It was a time in my life when I was looking to find my path in life. I fell in love with yoga so much so that I wrote a 40 page college paper on how yoga improves your communication skills. Not only do I feel that yoga has been a life changing hobby, it’s truly become a part of me and made me the person I am today- Amy Kayne!

What do you do for a living?

As a private chef, I’m fortunate enough to do what I love – nourish people through food. I started my business 2Gether We Cook at the beginning of 2015 after years of studying and sorting out how to focus my passion for food. 2Gether We Cook is about encompassing greater connectively with your family and friends around food that nourishes you body and mind. By offering programs like Menu Evolution, Meals For The Week or Cooking Parties, I’m able to introduce themes such as quick local, healthy, and organic meals to fit every lifestyle. One of my favorite things to witness is when a client or party guest has an ah-ha moment while saying mmm with a mouth full of food I created with my own hands. Those moments are what it’s all about for me.

Are you able to incorporate your yoga practice into your career or into your daily life off the mat?

Being a mom of 2 boys under the age of 7, incorporating yoga practice daily has become essential. Simple breathing can sometimes take a backseat when you’re juggling so much. If I stop to breathe, while touching my third eye, it repositions me and helps me continue without judgment or anxiety. As a chef, I’m constantly on my feet. Doing a simple flow in the morning, or throughout the day, really helps me maintain alignment and strength.

What is the best thing about the Lila yoga community?

I’ve been at Lila for many years. I’m comfortable saying I’m addicted to Gennelle’s expanding class. The space is very much a place of comfort and home. When I need peace of mind during the day, I think about being on my mat in Gennelle’s class in the Lila studio. The space itself is sacred and the community is just as comforting. The other yogis are there for the same goal, without judgment, on their own journey to better themselves as yogis and to better expand themselves physically and mentally. I love ending with a Namaste as I truly feel the light we share with one another helps to strengthen our own light within.